The present invention relates to a snap lock for attachment members on transportable large containers, especially for connecting carts of a lifting and depositing device for such large container, e.g., containers, shelters, compartments or the like, which have ISO corner fittings with slots, with which in turn a snap lock can be brought into engagement, and the snap lock has a lock bolt with a mushroom-type head which can slide axially counter to spring pressure and can be rotated, and of which the length is greater than the width of the slots in the ISO corner fittings and which can be rotated 90 degrees out of an inoperative assembly or inserted position into an operative clamped position and can be secured against the inside of the relevant ISO corner fitting by a clamp nut on the lock bolt.
A known lifting and depositing device for transportable large containers has four rack and pinion jacks, of which the arms can be attached by connecting beams and by means of snap locks to the ISO corner fittings of the relevant container. The arrangement is configured for this purpose so that each connecting beam is suspended with a journal rigidly fastened parallel to the connecting beam on a cantilevered arm in a top ISO corner fitting, while the bottom end of the connecting beam is affixed on the relevant bottom ISO corner fitting by a cantilevered arm by means of a horizontal snap lock. For this purpose, this snap lock is incorporated tightly in the relevant cantilevered arm projecting to the side at the bottom end of the connecting beam and is provided with a salient which fits exactly into the slot of the bottom ISO corner fitting. Then, however, it is impossible to arrange two such snap locks over each corner and to bring them into simultaneous engagement with one of the bottom ISO corner fittings of the large container, which is undesirable because of the high degree of stability required if it has to do with particularly heavy containers which are hard to move. German Utility Patent No. 82 35 609.2 actually discloses a solution, wherein the arm of a lifting and depositing device for large containers can be fastened by means of one rigid and one axially movable journal on one corner fitting of a large container. This construction however cannot be applied to the aforementioned snap locks for ISO corner fittings without overcoming further problems.
Another drawback of the snap locks which are constructed rigidly incorporated in the connecting parts of the lifting and depositing device resides in that in case of a defect, the entire arm may have to be subjected to a spring fracture for the repair procedure. Also the incorporated snap locks increase the weight of the connecting parts of the device, which as is known are intended to be easy to carry and dismountable into parts for storage. A requirement then exists for a snap lock for any structural attachment part.